Gilead Sciences and Tibotec to develop combination HIV therapy

Gilead Sciences has announced a new alliance with Tibotec Pharmaceuticals that will see the companies produce a combination treatment for HIV.

The license agreement will focus on the development and commercialisation of a fixed-dose antiretroviral therapy, combining Tibotec's approved HIV drug Prezista with Gilead's investigational pharmacoenhancing agent cobicistat.

Should this treatment be approved, Tibotec would take responsibility for its global production and sales, with Gilead retaining the rights to cobicistat as a standalone product.

The companies are also in discussions over a similar collaboration to create a single-tablet HIV regimen combining Prezista with Gilead's compounds Emtriva and GS 7340, as well as cobicistat.

Dr Norbert Bischofberger, Gilead's executive vice-president for research and development and chief scientific officer, said: "This agreement represents another important step forward in our commitment to developing simplified treatment regimens that can help address the individual needs of people living with HIV."

Earlier this year, the company entered into an alliance with MicroDose Therapeutx to develop a new treatment for respiratory syncytial virus.